


Half frozen heart

by makeyamad



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Horror, Demonic Possession, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Suicide Attempt, Warnings May Change, kind of?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15701655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makeyamad/pseuds/makeyamad
Summary: What went into the ice, it didn't come out the same. And nobody seems to realise..Or(The one in which Steve cannot die. But every time he does he comes back less and less human)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I watched Annabelle: Creation. And honestly. Screw. That. Movie. If I hear you are my sunshine anywhere Imma blow my gasket. But, one thing snagged my attention and gave birth to this plot bunny. So. Here you go! Must say. It's gonna be a slow burn but I hope to finish up in time do another bang.

 

There was an urban legend that if you held the photo of Captain America in the dark, Cap's eyes would glow. That was part of the reason why Tony used to sleep with a Cap poster by his bed when he was young; his dad said he was too big to sleep with lights on.  
Somethings are better left unverified . Like the fact that, when Steve woke up from the ice, his eyes glowed. Like a cat. And when he was upset, things tended to be destroyed. And not by his hand. People at SHIELD thought he must have been imbibed with some special powers after the serum that had been left out of the files .  
Sometimes, Steve was glad there was no original Commando left to verify that story. It all started on the day Bucky fell to his death. Steve had wanted to do nothing but let go of the handle himself. But he had a duty to do. So he handed over Zola; but not all of the energy guns. That night when Peggy found him, he was already prepared to leave the world. His meagre possessions had been put in order, his pay going to funds for an orphanage.  
Peggy must have sensed something wrong. She stated with him throughout the night till she was called away at dawn. And that's when he put the gun to his mouth and pulled the trigger. Only to wake up four hours later to an earsplitting headache and his neck covered in his own blood and brains.  
That's when Steve realised, maybe Erskine hadn't told him everything about the serum.  
His worst fears where confirmed when Schmidt, between destroying the plane and him, sneered,"You fool. When we are done, you will know. You will wish death upon yourself. This red skin, how do you think it came about?" Steve spat blood and got ready to tackle him . Schmidt laughed, half hysteria half madness and whispered furiously, "it wasn't the serum. It was the atom bomb we tested on me. The serum just makes sure I don't die from what must have killed me a long time ago. And every time. Every time I try..."  
Thankfully, the tesseract went off, erasing the Red skull. Steve knew what to do. He didn't even feel sorrow when he put himself into the ice. Atleast now, the world was safe from him.

* * *

 

Tony could not believe his ears. They had found Cap. On a regular scouting mission at that. After his second brush with death, Tony had decided enough was enough. The company was in good hands. If the world needed him , Iron man was just a phone call away. Time to take that world trip he had wanted to when he finished college. Working for the company since the ripe old age of seventeen had turned him into a grumpy old man at the tender age of twenty eight.  
Was he seriously considering retirement at the age of twenty eight? Maybe. His life so far had been all work and occasionally play. He really only enjoyed making things with his hands. Perhaps he could go back into SI as an R&D guy and call it a day.  
He was enjoying a balmy night in Sydney when he learned about SHIELD's discovery. What's a man gotta do but grab his suit and take off when America's golden son was back.(He was the current favourite though. No doubts about that)  
He had just landed in the square when a big blond nearly ran into the armor. He grabbed the guy's arms to steady him. The guy must have taken it in a wrong way because suddenly , he was snarling and trying to attack the armor. And by God, was he fast. Tony was pretty sure the suit was dented at five different places in the chest alone, given each punch nearly made his entire core vibrate.  
Tony popped open the face plate ," Hey Klondike, ease up on the battering would ya, or I'm not paying the bills for your hands. And go easy on the steroids too. It damages the package," the guy shot him a look. Though he stopped trying to make Tony into a metal sheet, he was instead eerily quiet, watching the arc reactor like an eagle.  
"I know it's awesome babe. But you need to tell me what's the sitch so we can clear out and let these lovely people get back to work", Tony tried. Big blond seemed truly lost ; he kept looking at the surroundings and the armor with equal amounts of awe and distrust. Tony scanned him the best he could; he wasn't injured and seemed pretty healthy even though the undershirt was pretty indecent, given the man boobs and all. Still the guy seemed to be plotting ways of offense and defence ; not asking for directions.  
"Stark", Fury's voice rang out," what are you doing here?" Blondie's confused mutter of,"Stark?" had Tony winking at him,"Call me Tony. Stark was my dad." And he stepped out of the armor, strutting towards Fury,"Nicky! If it isn't my not so favourite one eyes pirate ever", he called out.

Steve's head was reeling. All he could remember were snatches of sights and sounds. The room that he woke up. That woman with lips so red; redder than fresh blood. The sounds of a radio playing the commentary for a game he watched himself. The giant screens and bustling people who seemed to be in too much of a hurry to even look at him. And the red and gold automaton that was still watching him with glowing blue slits.  
And Stark? No . Tony. The resemblance to Howard was striking. But unless Howard had a kid when he was five, this couldn't be the son of a thirty year old man. Or, perhaps..  
Steve edged towards the automaton and raised his hand to tap its head, when it turned. In a flurry of movements the armor had Steve's arms trapped behind his back and his face pushed to the pavement. "Jarvis! Look what you've done! Apologise to Blondie", Tony called out as he scampered back from where he and Fury had been whispering furiously.

Tony had to say . That was the first time Jarvis had dealt with someone curious and dumb enough to approach the sentinent armor with such extreme prejudice. Fury seemed to be intent in keeping him in the dark, regarding Blondie's identity. But the list of people Tony thought could have hand to hand combat with seven hundred pounds weaponised suit of titanium gold alloy armor and walk away without severe injuries was down to one name. And the deer-in -headlights look helped cement it. This was the Golden son himself. And it seemed SHIELD didn't want to share its toys with him. Jarvis confirmed in his ear," I've run the facial databases sir. The only match is from the archives of Howling commandos.  
The match is one Rogers, Steven Grant." Tony could barely contain his excitement. He smirked as the armor let Blondie, no, Steve go and apologised with all the politeness of his late British butler, God rest his soul.

Steve struggled to not let it show on his face that he heard every single word. The armor offered him a hand up which he ignored and sat back on his haunches. Tony bent down to his level, placing with arms on his knees . "What? You gonna tap out? We're just getting started. And here i was , thinking we could do this all day", Tony said ,amusement clear in his voice. Well. If Tony wanted to play the innocent game, then so could Steve .  
"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off , what are you?", Steve sneered. Tony twisted his neck to look at the armor,"Really? You thought I was as tall as the armor?" He shrugged, "well the repulsors do add a feet to my height. But I can assure you. I'm 5'10". Fury muttered," in heels, that is". Tony rolled his eyes, "wow, that joke was so funny I finished laughing at it ten years ago."  
Steve snorted and Tony looked pleasantly surprised at having made him laugh. Steve got up from the ground in one fluid move, towering over Tony.  
"Good to see you Tony", he offered his hand,"I'm Steve ". Tony smiled as he grasped his hand, "You too, C..Steve".


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to janet1982. You don't know but your comment kept me from deleting this

He only wanted to have dinner. It kept repeating in his head, as Steve slowly inched towards the too bright gates of Stark tower. He only wanted to have dinner by himself.  
After the Times square fiasco, a tug of war ensued between SHIELD and Stark. Both of them wanted Steve to stay with them. But Steve put his foot down; he was nobody's pet monkey; not then, not now.  
In the end, Stark proposed buying an apartment in Steve's old neighbourhood. Only for Steve to have an aneurysm when he found about the rent of a single bedroom place. Stark (Tony. He said he was Tony ) told him of the small fortune of military back pay and the trust Howard had set up in his name.  
Steve didn't feel like blowing all his money. Not when he had nothing; no place, no job, no idea as to what he wanted to do. Fury was quick to offer him a 'paramilitary' job which had Tony scoffing;making him instantly suspicious.  
When they parted ways, Tony did warn him; Fury was not one to let go easily. Sure enough, Steve had a tail or two, every time he went outside. It was extremely insulting; did they think Steve was dumb enough to not know when he was being followed?  
But not tonight. Tonight, Steve managed to loose both his tails, a blond guy with a purple obsession and a red haired woman. And managed to die and come back to life the third time.  
The diner was pretty dingy. It was filled with smoke and several odours that made Steve's super smelling nose beg him to leave at once. But it felt homely; familiar in a way he had so craved these past months. And their apple pie was to die for. Steve had, for the first time since he woke up , let go of the purse strings and ate to the fill of his supermetabolism. Thank God for resonable pricing and generous serving portions.  
He had been walking to the subway station when he heard them; a couple fighting. From the sounds of it, the woman seemed to be loosing and the promise of the fight turning ugly real fast hung in the air. He had stepped in to intervene. What he had never expected was the three shots that rang out from behind him.  
As Steve went down on his knees in shock and pain, the woman had relieved him of all his measly possessions and was contemplating taking his leather jacket too. Her accomplice scrunched up his nose on seeing the blood that Steve had vomitted all over his front and pulled her away to con somebody else after kicking Steve, laying discarded amongst the trash.  
In that moment, Steve felt hatred like he never had. His only regret had been the fact that the bullet must have surely gone through his heart, assuring death for him. If only he had known..  
Steve woke up to the sound of water flowing, gasping. Turns out, he'll live yet another day. Penniless and in pain, he shuffled out of the dark alley. Catching sight of the giant sign, he made his way inch by painful inch towards the only other person who he hoped would help him; the only other guy he knew in this century.

The doors to Stark tower opened automatically. Steve lumbered in, at the edge of delirium. "Tony..", his hoarse voice rang out in the empty lobby. Immediately, a bluish apparition appeared before him," Good evening Captain. I'm Jarvis, Sir's assistant. You seem unwell . Shall I call the ambulance, instead? ". Steve weakly shook his head ," I want Tony ",his voice cracked and he ended up coughing a bucketful of blood on the marble floor.  
Jarvis seemed to hesitate," If you will follow me to the lift. Do you want somebody to help you to the lift, Captain?" Steve ignored the question in favour of hobbling the last few feet before he collapsed inside the lift. The lift must have been damn fast, because it seemed to Steve he had only blinked once, before Tony, looking tired yet anxious, was upon him, gently tapping his cheek ," Cap ? Buddy? Steve? Hey buddy. Can you hear me?"  
Steve blinked open his eyes and tried to smile. Tony smiled back. Tony spoke in low tones," Jarvis, is the med bay ready?" Jarvis answered in an equally mild tone,"all set sir ". Tony seemed to say to himself ,"Good, good. The suit is up? "  
After receiving an affirmative answer, Tony leaned forward, picking a stray leaf stuck in Steve's forehead. "Steve, I'm going to help you, ok? ". Steve nodded weakly. Tony nodded back, "Now, the suit is going to help us carry you to the med bay, alright? If you feel any pain, well, more than what you are currently in, whimper?"  
Jarvis made a noise that sounded like a disapproving cough. Tony shrugged and smiled nervously before getting up and letting the suit into the lift. Steve braced himself for pain as the suit opened its arms . The suit was surprisingly gentle as it picked him up in a smooth bridal carry.  
Steve was reminded of Bucky, doing his damnedest to not jostle Steve as he carried him when one of the bullies broke Steve's legs. Bucky was a good man. It should have been him. Steve was the one who should've died and Bucky should have been Captain America. He didn't realise he had been mumbling some of his thoughts aloud till Tony answered him.

"I dunno Steve, You seem to be doing pretty good", Tony hummed as he kept pace with the armor and Steve. "Not that I find Bucky bad or something. Hell. I'll tell you a secret. Bucky was my first crush ", Tony whispered all conspiratorial and winked. Steve coughed weakly but tried to play along," Not me?"  
"Oh no, you, Mr. Rogers , was competition. Howard liked to tell me all about you. I loved it as a kid. I used to sleep with your photo on my pillow , you know? But when Howard kept telling all about you, only about you, even when I , say, won a science fair or built a fully functional artificial intelligence, that's Dum-E by the way, I hated it," Tony paused.  
Steve's stomach dropped, " You hate me, then?" Tony hastily said,"No, no, no. It's complicated. I hated that I could never be you, the mighty righty Cap. But I don't hate Steve, not you, even though you wear plaid".  
"But I am Captain America. Just like you are iron man", Steve pointed out , as the suit set him down gently on the bed with his knees hanging by the side. Tony rounded the bed , chuckling ," You saw that too? Did you like it? I was channelling my inner Steve Rogers. I was dying", to Steve's alarmed look Tony waved his hand. "Just a little bit . And then i got better. They wanted me to turn over the one thing i did right. And i damn well didn't wanna go down without a fight", Tony said as he carefully cut away the shirt and jacket while the suit propped Steve up from the front.  
Steve snorted and winced, it did hurt to laugh making Tony called up Jarvis to get a full body scan of Steve . Steve whispered hoarsely," Twas good. But a bit too show boatyfor my style". Tony tilted his head,coming into Steve's vision," Show boat? More like dream boat, darling", and wiggled his eyebrows. Steve chuckled and grunted,"stop making me laugh. It hurts".  
Tony lifted his hands," Whatever you say Boss". Steve said,"Don't call me boss". Tony shot back an ,"ok, Boss".And Steve couldn't help it, he laughed. And then vomitted some more blood. He just had to go make friends with another snarky brunet.


End file.
